Broccoli – Hate It? Blame President George H.W. Bush

President George H.W. Bush said “I do not like Broccoli and I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m President of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more Broccoli. George H.W. Bush also said “Now look, this is the last statement I’m going to have on Broccoli.” There are truckloads of Broccoli at this very minute descending on Washington. My family is divided. For the Broccoli vote out there: Barbara loves Broccoli. She has tried to make me eat it. She eats it all the time herself. So she can go out and meet the caravan of Broccoli that’s coming in.

Even with it’s high profile hater’s Broccoli taste good and is good for you. I’ll bet you didn’t know that Broccoli contains indoles, which can help inactivate harmful estrogens that can promote the growth of tumors, sulforaphane, which stimulates cells to produce cancer fighting enzymes, and beta-carotene, another cancer fighter. Broccoli contains some 3% of protein and is one of the richest vegetable sources of calcium, iron and magnesium. Broccoli is also very rich in vitamins A and C, exceeding even oranges in the concentration of vitamin C.

Broccoli likes Full Sun, light well drained soil, keep Broccoli slightly moist but not wet {waterlogged}. Broccoli will be ready for harvest in 65 -70 day after planting seedlings or 75 – 85 days from seed sown directly in garden soil.

Plant Broccoli seeds 1/4 – 1/2″ deep. Transplant or thin small Broccoli plants to 15-18″ apart in rows 32-36″ apart. Broccoli transplants can be started in April for May planting. Transplant after 4-6 weeks. Use a starter fertilizer, soaking the root ball thoroughly prior to transplanting. Direct seed Broccoli in late spring, as seedlings can tolerate a light frost. Broccoli can be direct seeded up until mid-late June for a continuous harvest. In southern growing areas direct seeding may be done as late as the last of July for a fall crop of Broccoli. Soil temperature should be 21-26 degrees C (70-80 degrees F) for optimal germination in 4-7 days.

Harvest when Broccoli buds heads are firm and tight, Hint: Harvest before flowers appear on the bud heads. Cutting 5 to 10 inches down on the stalk. This will promote the growth of side shoots which will provide an abundance of smaller Broccoli heads over a long period.Broccoli can be boiled, broiled, steamed, stir fried, pickled or eaten raw. However no matter how you prepare Broccoli, Do Not Over Cook It. Hint: Remove Broccoli from it’s pan or steamer and dip in ice water to stop the cooking process. This will keep your Broccoli crisp and a bright green color.

Broccoli recipes by All recipes dot com This site claims to have 1600 recipes containing Broccoli.Jedi Masters Steam Broccoli In The Microwave Trick:
Preparation and cooking time 5 minutes or less: This method for cooking/steaming broccoli is a must-have in any kitchen’s bag of tricks.
Use fresh bunches of Broccoli and you’ll never settle for bags of frozen again–it comes out delicious in minutes with no special gadgets required!
Here’s how Jedi masters steam Broccoli in only minutes…

Wash and trim broccoli bunches then separate into smaller pieces, try to keep them in uniform sizes.
*Arrange the florets in a glass, microwaveable bowl or casserole dish and add a bit of water (no more than 2 tablespoons of water for 2 to 3 cups of fresh broccoli). Cover.

*Cook on high 2 to 2 1/2 minutes then check, if broccoli isn’t quite done, re-cover and allow to sit in the steam until it’s fully cooked.

*Once broccoli is done, strain off any remaining water and serve.

Hint: Be sure to use very little water and don’t overcook your Broccoli or there will be a loss of nutrients, too much water will cause mushy, soggy Broccoli. There’s lots of water on the florets from washing plus the extra added water to sufficiently steam it until it’s cooked.
**Note: Cooking times may vary slightly in different microwave ovens.

Why is common sense so uncommon?
Don’t be shy. Leave me your comment(s)

3 responses to “Broccoli – Hate It? Blame President George H.W. Bush”

Ha!
I’m a big fan though. But only raw. I can hardly eat it cooked. But then it doesn’t seem to have as much of a taste, then. In my book anyway. I thought I was growing broccoli this year and they all came up as cauliflower! Blast it! And then I lost them in the freeze, anyway.
Your posts are always so informative!

Thank you for your kind comment(s) and finding time to visit my little blog.

Grinning, wow, that’s a really neat trick… Plant Broccoli and have it turn into Cauliflower!!
Maybe I can learn that trick, then I will only need to buy one package of seed for all the Broccoli and Cauliflower I can eat.
Sounds bad, but, try stuffing a baked potato with some steamed course chopped Broccoli and melt a bit of cheese on top of both.
Happy gardening..